as a civil rights attorney rightsan aide senator ted kennedy, a member of montgomery county's county council, he has helped level playing field where working families can get ahead. this is not chosen -- this is not the first time he was chosen to be a labor secretary. we have governor martin o'malley, and martin appointed, as the secretary of maryland's labor department, where heat implemented the first living wage law. le, he has open pathways for everyone willing to contribute, including people with disabilities withlbgt americans, and immigrants. while he has tackled plenty of tough issues, tom has spent a career as a consensus builder. he has worked with federal, state, and local government levels, and he understands our economy works best when the middle class and those working to get into the middle class have security they need on the job, a democratic voice in the workplace, everybody playing by the same set of word -- rules strict he will make an outstanding secretary of labor, and there are plenty of work to do. we will have to work very hard to make sure that folks find j